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Jim Fonseca's Reviews > Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited
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Our narrator, a non-Catholic officer based on the home front in World War II Britain, revisits a mansion he first visited as a young man and reflects back on his close relationship with a Catholic family. A non-Catholic himself, he reports to us about their habits and customs almost as if he were an anthropologist visiting a tribe in the tropical rainforest. Not only are Catholics a minority in Britain, but the Anglican Church is the official state-sponsored religion. It's a great book and, of course, it's been made into a Masterpiece Theater series years ago. There are many reviews of this work already, so just to illustrate the excellent writing, I will just say that I think the romantic episode on an ocean liner during a storm at sea (her husband is absent; his wife is laid up with seasickness) is the most romantic passage I can think of in literature.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
February 16, 2012
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Finished Reading
October 6, 2013
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Two small points: Charles has converted to Catholicism by the time he enlists as a soldier, or at any rate shortly afterwards. He is certainly a Catholic in the last pages of the book, when he watches the Brideshead chapel being deconsecrated. The Marchmains were not an English 'recusant' family, one of the ones who remained Catholic after the Reformation. Lady Marchmain was a middle-class Catholic, and her husband Lord Marchmain converted to marry her. It was she who had made the Marchmains Catholic, not family tradition.
L. wrote: "Two small points: Charles has converted to Catholicism by the time he enlists as a soldier, or at any rate shortly afterwards. He is certainly a Catholic in the last pages of the book, when he watc..."Ah, very interesting L - you gave the book a much closer reading than I did! Thanks, Jim
Thanks for reaching out, Jim! Yeah, man, that boat scene, that's a great one.
Alex wrote: "Thanks for reaching out, Jim! Yeah, man, that boat scene, that's a great one."yes I still recall if after all this time. (2013 I did the review, although I also read it eons ago and also watched the Masterpiece TV series)
I like the Sword of Honour Trilogy more. It provides remarkable descriptions of the Battle of Crete and the British collaboration with Tito both of which Waugh observed first-hand.
Lars wrote: "Great review."Thanks Lars
Czarny wrote: "I like the Sword of Honour Trilogy more. It provides remarkable descriptions of the Battle of Crete and the British collaboration with Tito both of which Waugh observed first-hand."I'll have to see what that is - not familiar with the trilogy
Jim, your succinct review captures what I admired about this book - the excellent writing and that romantic ocean liner episode. :-)
Laysee wrote: "Jim, your succinct review captures what I admired about this book - the excellent writing and that romantic ocean liner episode. :-)"Thanks Laysee, I am glad that you liked the review. And I still think it's one of the best ever romantic scenes in a novel.
You have hit on a key problem that bothers me: that is to say, how do you review a book for which many good reviews already exist.
Czarny wrote: "You have hit on a key problem that bothers me: that is to say, how do you review a book for which many good reviews already exist."A good point. I try to make my review of such works very short. Another way might be to just quote a few lines of good writing that appealed to you.
Great review Jim. Thanks, I'll be sure to add it to my to-read list
Andrew wrote: "Great review Jim. Thanks, I'll be sure to add it to my to-read list"Thanks Andrew. Yes, a good read and maybe due for a re-read. Actually I read it many years ago and then more recently listened to it on CD while commuting.
Read this a long time ago Jim. Loved it!
Teresa wrote: "Read this a long time ago Jim. Loved it!"Yes Teresa, really a classic or almost anyway. Time for a re-read
Did you watch the tv series that was made about it? I saw the film that came out a couple of years ago but I thought the tv series was the best.
Teresa wrote: "Did you watch the tv series that was made about it? I saw the film that came out a couple of years ago but I thought the tv series was the best."Yes, an excellent series - watched it many years ago. I think it was a British series on Masterpiece Theatre in the US
There were some great British actors in it. The main leads were played to perfection. Time for a re watch as well as a re read I think :)
I loved both the book and the TV miniseries, which was amazingly faithful to the book, even preserving much of the original dialogue. I have the DVD set of the series, which is well worth rewatching.
Teresa wrote: "There were some great British actors in it. The main leads were played to perfection. Time for a re watch as well as a re read I think :)"Ah if we can find it in TV re-runs!
Sheila wrote: "I loved both the book and the TV miniseries, which was amazingly faithful to the book, even preserving much of the original dialogue. I have the DVD set of the series, which is well worth rewatching."yes, I looked it up - it was produced in 1981. A big hit at the time, like Downton Abbey I guess
I'm going to purchase the dvd. Now your review Jim reminded me of how much I enjoyed it I just have to see it again.
Teresa wrote: "I'm going to purchase the dvd. Now your review Jim reminded me of how much I enjoyed it I just have to see it again."Enjoy Teresa!
Didn't know the book has that interesting subtitle.
Gerhard wrote: "Didn't know the book has that interesting subtitle."Yea pretty strange when you think of it
I have an old hardback copy of this book and it does not have that sub-title.
Jill wrote: "I have an old hardback copy of this book and it does not have that sub-title."Ah that's interesting. Although I see that Wikipedia has an image of the first edition, 1945, and the subtitle is on the book jacket
The copy I read didn't have the subtitle either.
Teresa wrote: "The copy I read didn't have the subtitle either."strange!
The ‘80s miniseries was not Masterpiece Theatre in the US, but syndicated to independent channels, a rather unusual situation (Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, Olivier’s Lear were also broadcast similarly as “event” tv), and very successful. Was a a bit more lushly cinematic and casually erotic than most of Masterpiece Theatre’s offerings then.
MissionManSF wrote: "The ‘80s miniseries was not Masterpiece Theatre in the US, but syndicated to independent channels, a rather unusual situation (Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, Olivier’s Lear were also broadcast similarl..."Thanks for that info. I actually watched the series when it first ran many years ago - pretty good I thought
I so agree re the part on the ship
I'm currently reading the novel for the fourth time. Today I revisited the boat passage. The allegory of the storm, the. romance, the matter of fact way they consumate their relationship... it's all brilliant
As for the Catholics, not only were they a minority (they're about to overtake protestants, I think), their faith was outlawed in the Tudor period. Few aristocrats continued in the faith, so families like the Marchmains were rare, even generations after it was acceptable to be a Catholic.